
Can eating too much fruit trigger gestational diabetes?
Women who eat large amounts of fruit during pregnancy may have a higher risk of gestational diabetes.
A new study found that women who ate lots of fruit during their second trimester were four times more likely to develop the disease.
The raised risk was particularly associated with fruits high on the glycaemic index.
However, those who ate more fruit also had a higher total intake of carbohydrates. This may be the real culprit (see our analysis below).
The study, published in Nature, aimed to investigate the association between fruit consumption during the second trimester and the occurrence of gestational diabetes. It tracked the diets of 772 women for more than a year.
Of the 772 participants, 169 were diagnosed with gestational diabetes during the study period.
An increased likelihood of gestational diabetes was particularly associated with consumption of tropical and citrus fruits, along with fruits high on the glycaemic index, which include bananas, pineapple, apricots, kiwis, watermelon, dates and raisins.
Gestational diabetes is a temporary condition during pregnancy but it raises the risk of type-2 diabetes in later life.
Instant analysis
This was a prospective cohort study evaluating the association of fruit consumption and the occurrence of gestational diabetes. This study design is insufficient on its own in establishing causality, but establishes correlation.
Gestational diabetes is diabetes diagnosed in pregnancy usually between 24 to 28 weeks of gestation, when insulin resistance is at its highest, which was not evident before pregnancy and doesn’t persist
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